To the editor,
Re: Refining oil in B.C. is common sense, Opinion, May 15.
David Black is on record wanting to build a refinery in B.C. to process Alberta oil-sands crude. However, his current proposal will not be financially attractive to major corporate investors.
Refined products such as gasoline have a limited lifespan and therefore are not desirable for export to Asia. Existing refineries in Washington State already process crude that is shipped from Alaska and may continue to also accept Alberta crude. Building an additional refinery will produce a glut of gasoline, which depresses prices for all producers and suppliers.
By building a refinery in Canada to produce product from oil-sands crude for local distribution will put the entire supply chain from upstream to retail distribution within the draconian tax arms of the Canada Revenue Agency. By exporting the crude outside of Canada, large corporations can gain a much higher profitability through lawful offshore tax avoidance strategies that may include product supply and exchange agreements with competitors. The international exchange and supply of crude among competitors is done on paper through lower or no tax jurisdictions at the expense of higher tax countries such as Canada.
Anthonie den Boef, Nanoose Bay
The views and opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the writer and do not reflect the views of Black Press or the Nanaimo News Bulletin. If you have a different view, we encourage you to write to us or contribute to the discussion below.